Taiwan’s biomedicine sector looks promising after election: analysts
by John Liu
*TAIPEI (The China Post/ANN) - President-elect Tsai Ing-wen said biotech
is one of the five focus industries the new government will be cultivating.*
With policy support and a local talent pool, biomedicine may be the next
big thing in Taiwan as president-elect Tsai Ing-wen takes office in May,
according to foreign and domestic analysts.
Biotech is one of the five focus industries the new government will be
cultivating, Tsai has said, adding that more resources will be invested
into the development of drugs as well as medical instruments and materials.
The new vice president, Chen Chien-jen, a researcher in epidemiology and
genomics, also speaks of the volume of biotechnology’s role in the near
future for Taiwan.
Newly elected lawmakers will soon begin their tenure on February 1.
Investors are suggesting keeping an eye on the legislation progress of
the “Act for the Development of Biotech and New Pharmaceuticals
Industry,” an institutional investor said.
The law’s amendment would begin in February, instead of May when Tsai
takes office, the vice president-elect has said.
Biotech is considered a critical sector, and the legislature will
delineate how the government intends to support the sector’s talent,
funding and health service, Chen pointed out.
Now that the Democratic Progressive Party has gained an absolute
majority in the legislature, many expect that the amendment will sail
through.
The trend of moving upward is certain, and a short-term surge may also
occur, according to a fund manager at Capital Investment Management Co.
Foreign analysts express optimism
Buoyed by Taiwan’s well-educated workforce and access to mainland
China’s huge market, Taiwan’s biotechnology sector has been a bright
spot in the economy, according to Bloomberg.
The industry’s stocks gained 1.9 per cent over the past three months,
the best among 28 subgroups on Taiwan’s benchmark TAIEX gauge, which
fell 8.7 per cent during the same period, said the media.
Stocks to watch, according to Bloomberg, are Formosa Laboratories,
United Orthopedic Corp. and Pacific Hospital Supply Co. Chu Yen-min,
president of KGI Securities Investment Advisory Co., also favours
investing in pharmaceutical firms.
High-tech R&D centre in Taiwan
Tsai’s proposal also includes collaboration with A-list biotech clusters
from Switzerland and the US to turn Taiwan into the biomedicine research
and development centre of the Asia-Pacific.
Investors are also advised to pay attention to green technology, smart
machinery, the Internet of Things (IOT) and the national defense
industry, the other four sectors that Tsai will prioritise.
Tsai also promised to funnel capital, talent and technical know-how from
Japan and the US to create an “Asian Silicon Valley” in Taiwan as an IOT
bellwether.